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I understand the logic where analists have been saying, as they did with AIG, that GM is too big to fail, so we must bail them out. I understand but greatly disagree. GM got themselves into this mess and it was not just because of the bad economy. GM's ineptitude was evident in of a total lack of forsight by continuing to build gas guzzling dinosaurs, lagging behind on the production of hybrids, and fuel efficent vehicles and focusing on profits from, as one blogger said, leasing.
I have sympathy for the workers in Jainesville WI. (I live in Milwaukee) who are losing their jobs. But I have none for GM. Let them declare bankruptcy, close down plants, and retool others. Then we can add to future economic/business text books, GM's example of how not to run a business. The other wrong example would be for tax payers to continue to bail out another corporation. We cannot afford it any longer. Enough is enough!

Mr.Cohan's op-ed article about GM is indicative of the real problem...nobody knows what they are talking about. Please spare with me with all your ruminations about, socialism, the free market, GM's corporate culture, labor unions, worker productivity, labor costs, currency fluctuation and of course the gran-daddy of them all...American cars are NOT as good as their japanese counterparts. BULL!
Unfortunate for us, our asian counterparts had a business plan which had nothing to do with building a better car. Their cars were inferior for the longest time. If you don't believe me, tell me how many japanese cars older than 20 years do you see on the roads , the answer is none because they all rusted away because they built them with recycled steel that did not last. Check out Barret Jackson Autions, how many japanese cars are in those auctions; none because the few that survived are undesirable. In the last 20 years, their cars did get better, but not as good as the US press reports about them.
The US never infiltrated the asian market in the same way they have ours. The asian people like US cars, but they are so heavily tarriffed, they are unafordable there. More importantly, Japan's goverment backs their domestic auto industry to reduce costs so their cars unfairly compete with US autos.
Its all part of their plan to take over the world auto industry (which seems to be happening as I write this email). The secret culture of the japanese companies have used their influence to affect US policy.They hire the same Washington special interest lobbyists that keep assault weapons readily available to hunters and terrorists alike and if you ask me, they should not have access to our legislators.
But wait, their business plan allowed them to not just purchase our media companies, but the souls of the people giving their opinions about their products. This is America and anything and everything is for sale..how much would you like to pay?
When was the last time consumer reports or any other trade magazine ever negatively reviewed a japanese car? Never. Do they report that the single most unreliable V6 engine is built by toyota because it will likely seize due to oil sludge...of course not...they report about the "cheap" interior that GM put in its new corvette selling for $45,000.00 that beats all other cars on the planet selling for well north of $100,00.00. The japanese auto industry controls our media and government policy...so what do you think happens?
30 years ago, we never imagined the US auto industry would be wiped out under such a confluence of negative market forces, but japan and Lee Iacocca did. If you are one of those people who actually believe the US Government should not help then don't be concerned when 3 million (or more)of your fellow workers are out of a job, the US economic decline dramatically increases, the US loses its ability to manufacture a cars, trucks and military vehicles, and since japan may soon have no competition, toyota can charge you $35,000.00 or whatever it wants for a corolla hatchback.
I can't wait for the new era of theoretical economic bulls--t that will be used to justify the unintended and devastating consequences to the long term American economy.

To clear up the misconception, people on the line DO NOT make $60 hr. Under the new contract, they will be making $14 hr. And next year the union will take over healthcare benefits for ALL workers!

Mary Hoffman, how much money do you want to give GM and for how many years...year after year after year? This problem and your suggested welfare handouts will go on forever because their cars are not competitive. The money will never be paid back. My guess is you are one of the 40% of income earners who pay no tax and therefore NO SKIN OFF YOUR NOSE. Get real.

I agree. What we could do with that bailout money, is to invest it in shares of Toyota and Honda, then allow those companies to buy up GM assets for pennies on the dollar. The enormous return on investment could be used to retrain GM workers who could not be relocated. Giving GM the money directly, would be irresponsible.

i am not interested in seeing bail out funds go to helping pay for cost free health benefits to uaw retirees'. i am sorry that the auto industry made these promises they can't keep, but i didn't and don't want my tax dollars doing it, either.

Whatever the arguments-and I agree with most of them-on both sides of the Issue,the point is that we need to FIX the problem.Turn GM and Ford inside out,upside down(the way they have been going so far THAT would be an Improvement)-whatever.But we have to see that there have been SOME Positive moves from both in the last year or so.
Also,consider this:if we let them both collapse,NO ONE would buy a Ford or a GM Car without the backing of the Companies and the Foreign Auto makers-particularly the Japanese and the Germans will fill that Market Share Void.American Auto Makers are already behind in market share and it would take a Decade or more for any Newly Created Company to even achieve the market share they(Ford and GM) have now.
With all the Huge Potential in Asia,specially in India and China up for grabs within the next 5 to 10 years,this would be the worst of times to eliminate any American Challenge to the foreign Auto makers.
I know that the correct free market solution would be to let them swim or sink but we have already veered away from that course a long time ago.
Let me know what all you think.I value your Opinions.

All you jealous people--I'd like to see you do some of the assembly jobs hour after hour. Robin Hood is coming- wimps-

GM spends $1,500 per car for their UAW health care benefit compare to Toyota's $150. If anybody believe we can rescue this company by wasting tax payer's money with bail out, he or she must be on drug. It is far better to let these three automobile company to bankrupt, reorganize to healthier one instead of keep feeding this bottomless pit with tax. We all aware democratic party owe to union members including UAW but the party owe more to all of us instead of spoiled union members. Without bankrupcy and reorganization to make it more competitive one, autoindustry will be another dinosaur just like textile industry. Decades ago, they wasted our tax payer's money when they were given money to develop energy efficient cars and we all know what happened. It may be painful initially with job loss but how the heck anybody expect they will be competitive with sky rocketing labor expenses , as a result less money for funding research for development of better and safer car.

Russia had the Lada; we have GM. The communist state car, which was the only authorized vehicle in Russia, cost its citizens a small fortune and years to close a purchase. It never made it in a free market. If we bail out GM, further obsolesence is only a short time away. When this fails, then closed markets are a natural progression of state sponsorship. Once GM has the money, there is no incentive to change, merely incentive to ask for more money down the line. Let GM go into bankruptcy and make the necessary management and cost changes to make it a viable strategy going forward. Job losses are the least of our worries; our freedom is next.

To Jeff Sunshine

Well said and thought out. I have MANY times thought of the "points" you talk about but most people just fluff it off. And I love the bashing of the UAW. Did someone hold a gun to the Big 3's heads? Did they not "negotiate" with the Union? And the UAW HAS worked out lower rates for hourly employees but more importantly should 3/4 of a million retirees lose everything they have due to a GM bankruptcy? And for all the talk of Toyota and Honda not paying diddly compared to the Big 3, why aren't their cars much much cheaper? And do not tell me it is because the cars are of a much higher quality, that isn't really a proven fact. For every satisfied Toyota/Honda owner you can find a GM, Ford, or Chrysler owner. One thing definite...ANY help to the Big 3 should be with the knowledge the cars be made HERE in America, or at least 75%? Something....

To Jack Baumann

Do you have health insurance? Work a job where if you DO have health insurance it will carry over into retirement? Do you pay enough in taxes that the Feds "keep" some? Don't know about you but the government has NEVER asked me or for my input on where specifically I would like my taxes they kept to actually be spent.......

Mr. Cohan, you are obviously clueless and have no business blogging on a topic that you know nothing about. GM is consistently at the top in all categories when it comes to quality and safety, and routinely ranks higher than it's foreign competitors. For you to say they can't complete globally is absurd. GMs largest growth of late has been in Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, China and Russia. Is that not the sign of a global company? It is dumb @$$ people like you, that have no clue what they are writing about, and continue to bash the US auto industry and it's employees. Your opinions are helping to create this mess by influencing John Q Public with your false information and is a major reason the economy is in ruins. By the way genius, the 25 billion they are asking for is a loan, not a gift like was given to the financial industry. I guarantee you won't see the execs at GM throwing a 400K bash to celebrate. Why don't you write about the insurance cos. that are using their bailout money to party.

P.S. Any former US autoworker that has the ball$ to bash the industry ought to think about where there pension and health insurance is coming from and if you are buying Toyotas, you are obviously one of the low life POSs that didn't deserve a job and sponged off the company for years.

YES !!! Mr. Cohan, you are absolutely right !!! Let's all grab our torches and hoods and hang GM. Better yet why stop there?, let's get Ford and Chrysler too and completely devastate the heart of the manufacturing industry of USA.

They are not asking for free money as many morons think. What they want is low interest loans to recapitulize and restructure because no one else will lend them money because "doom and gloom" credit analysts and bloggers have driven their stock down so that speculators can short it making it worthless.

For those of you who weren't around in 1979, Chrysler Corporation was in the edge of bankruptcy (just like now). The board brought on a new CEO from Ford named Lee Iacocca, who by the way, was instrumental in the development and production of the Ford Mustang, one of the best selling cars of all time in America (hard to believe that at one time America bought the cars that were built here) He asked the government for million of dollars in loan guarantees and offered the union workers jobs at a certain rate of pay which they could accept or strike and if they did strike he would just shut the plants and everyboby would go home.

Well guess what!! I was with Dodge at the time and the workers unions agreed and he got the money and everybody went back to work and the people were lining up to buy those K-cars and help an American icon, and all they were getting besides a car was a $200 rebate, where now $2000 rebate is not enough!!!

He paid back the loans (tax payers money) with interest long before they were due. What a happy ending right? I was still with Dodge in 1984 when the new minivans Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyage were introduced and we had long lists of people waiting to buy them. All Toyota had was a cheap imitation that would not stand up to one of our products.

I get sick of hearing about the big 3 not building the cars that America wants. Tahoes and Suburbans, SUV's, and full size trucks were selling well until gas hit $4.00++a gallon.
I don't see where an American family of 5 with a dog and camping gear could jam up inside a Toyota Corolla, (maybe a family of 5-feet tall Japs could) or tow a boat behind them 35 MPG cars you all brag about. America had a lifestyle very different than our Japanese friends, we want bigger because we desire a better quality of life and comfort that is why we live and work in America and we don't live with three other families in a one-room hole in Tokio and eat rice and fishheads for dinner.

I don't know what years you are refering to Mr. Cohan but your star company Toyota's stock was trading for around $117 on October of last year and even as early as the beginning of 2008. Today it is trading for around $67. Almost 50% off.

The truth is they gained their market share in the 80's not by making a better product but by "dumping" their product in our market. For those of you who don't know what dumping means, it means selling for less than it costs to build, selling under cost to gain market share and then raise the price to the consumer.

It shows you their sales are down too and so is Honda, Nissan, Mazda, BMW, Lexus and so on. You want know why? Because people are losing their homes, their 401K's and IRA's are worth half of what they were a year ago and the country is at the edge of a depression. And your answer is not to invest in an American company and put more people out of work.

The bright side of this is when these foreign investors come to take over these factories and failed businesses it will tickle down eventually to everybody and all the morons who yelled "HANG 'EM" will be in the same soup line as me, only thing is I will have a better place in line because my industry will fail first. What business will you consult when there are no businesses, in what college will you teach when no one has money for college?

I hope for all of our sakes that doesn't happen.

Where is Lee Iacocca now that we need him?

God Bless The United States of America.

Why don't these car companies have to do what American Airlines and their Unions have the sense to do. They did what they had to to keep them out of bankrupcy. Isn't the Union better off to have a company for their employees to work for at lower wages than have no one working at all. DUH? But let's not take on the unions. Bet their executives are not getting their jobs cut or wages cut. Bad management has allowed these unions dictate their business to them so get rid of them also. Thank you AA and their unions for showing us the way to do the right thing.

American car companies drove people to the foreign car makers by making "planned obsolescence" part of their auto design decades ago. Unlike some CEO's, I worked hard for my money (what little I have) all my life, and I certainly would not deliberately buy a car that was designed to fail in six-eight years when I could buy one that would last twenty years for the same price. Our free-market economy is supposed to encourage competition. What's that? The producer of the most-often-needs-to-be-replaced car wins? That is short-sighted, immoral and unpatriotic because it soils the entire American "nest" with dishonesty, corruption and shortage of integrity--as well as nationwide job losses and downturns in the economy. I always did an honest day's work for an honest day's pay, giving more than I got, and I challenge anyone to say I am unpatriotic. Americans who cheat Americans are unpatriotic, and that's what too many highly paid CEO's have been doing for too many decades. They have been riding the coattails of heroes such as Henry Ford and Thomas Edison for far too long. It's time they got swept away and thrown into the ash heap. If there's no one to rise up out of the mess to replace them, then maybe we as a country deserve what we get for becoming a nation of too many freeloaders and slackers. Unfortunately they pull the rest of us down with them--all the while looking to us to bail them out.

American taxpayers should not be shafted with "patriotism" guilt to bail out these automakers. The UAW and automakers never had "patiotism" in their minds or in their business plan. If they did, UAW would have done everything in their power to make sure these automakers were making competitive products to stay in business. But they did not, all they were fighting for were for their own well being. Never mind that the cost would be passed on down to consumers who would be driving poor quality, over priced cars. On the other hand, if only the automakers would abandon their arrogant attitude i.e., "build them cars, and people will buy it" never mind about quality attitude, they will not be in such a mess. When I was in my twenties, I had three Ford cars, two were bought new, and in all three, reliability was always a problem and all of them I had to ditch after 80,000 miles because of just too much hassle going back and forth to the repair shop. Since then, I had owned previously owned HOnda's that lasted over 200,000 miles. I am now in my late 50's and the wisdom I gave to my 3- children who are all born in USA is to stay away from american cars if they want peace of mind in driving to and from work. Until american car makers prove their quality, I hope my children would pass on the wisdom to their grandchildren. Heck, Toyota and HOnda employs americans as well. BTW. I am still driving my 1991 acura integra and has logged in 235,000 and picks up better than a 2006 Saturn I rented six months ago.
Do the math, which one is cheaper to own in the long run?? If I am expected to compete with quality of work with my co-employees for better wages, then so should the car makers for my tax dollar. That's just fair...

it's pretty sad that our government will bail out the Wallstreet gang who are nothing more than a bunch of criminals that should be jailed for what they have done. On the other hand you have an industry (automotive) that has been the backbone of this country for over 100 years and gets treated like a second rate citizen. I'm not sure how many people even realize what GM has done for this country over the many years. GM was right there to help the hurricane victims this past summer (Gustav and Ike) with contributions of more than $100,000 to help feed families. GM "GAVE" a number of Hummer's (`13) to the Red Cross to help with there disater response capability. In total, GM gave over $2.3 million doallrs in cash and vehicles in support of the relief efforts. This was just one instance. GM has given milions and millions of dollars to past hurricane disaters. When 9/11 occured GM was the 1st industrial company to respond to the disaster. Again, GM gave multiple cars and trucks to New York City and the Port Authority to help in the disaster. GM responded with millions of dollars in contributions (much of it from thier employees) to help the victims and the city of New York. I'm sure many don't even remember this -- but GM was an enormous help in keeping "America Rolling" with 0% financing on auto loans. This kept the plants running, suppliers producing parts, dealerships very busy, lending institutions busy, etc. The President even acknowledge this and appauled GM for it. It hurt the bottom line for GM I'm sure-- but it didn't matter. Country was FIRST. I could go on and on with the many many things GM has done for this country - employment, charities, disater relief, etc. And what does this company get in return? A kick in the teeth with many saying -- Just fail - the market will recover. I'm sorry to tell you - but the impact would be devastating. I hope and pray for the survival of the automotive industry. This country needs it. I for one believe strongly that GM will survive and be stronger comapny than ever.

The U.S. car manufacturers are finally seeing the effects of gready UAW workers continually demanding less work, more benefits, and higher pay. The UAW broke it and they should play a major role in fixing it. Not the tax payers.

Reformat the company. Start a new one with only what is profitable for GM--whatever that is--Volt, Corvette, Caddys, parts, etc. and let the government invest in that and that only. It could grow profitably and then the taxpayers could get a return on their money.